No matter what
by Yoroshii Ohtori
Summary: A day after Ken stopped being the Digimon Emperor, he suddenly disappears and Davis decides to go back to the Digital World to look for him! Would the other DDs help him? Or is he on his own?
1. Prologue: The Vision

**Title: **No matter what…

**Pairing(s): **A little bit of T.K./Davis friendship in the beginning but Ken/Davis friendship all throughout then!

**Genre: **Angst/Drama

**Summary: **A day after Ken stopped being the Digimon Emperor, he suddenly disappears and Davis decides to go back to the Digital World to look for him! Would the other DDs help him? Or is he on his own?

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Prologue: The Vision… 

Davis was looking at the sky; he was sprawled on his back at the soccer field. _He looked really petrified!_ He thought as he remembered Ken's expression when Wormmon died. ­_Then that means he really **has** changed for the better!_ Davis thought as he sighed. He heard footsteps nearing him as he looked up.

"Hey!" he greeted as he sat up. "What do you think you're doing here, Davis? We have to go to the Digital World to destroy the control spires!" Yolei scolded. "Oh yeah! Sorry… I forgot!" Davis apologized softly. "How could you forget? We always go everyday!"

"I just had something filled in my mind right now, okay? I wasn't able to think clearly!" Davis explained.

"Something?" Yolei asked as Davis led the way back to the computer room. "Or someone?"

Davis looked back and shot Yolei a glare. "It's Ken, okay?" he snapped as he looked back to where he was walking and went silent all the way.

"They're here!" Cody announced as Yolei and Davis came inside the computer room. "I'm so sorry, guys! I totally forgot!" Davis explained again. "So, is everybody ready?" Everyone nodded and so they went to the Digital World.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Too disturbed by what happened, a certain purple-haired boy walked alone in the dark and cold night in the middle of the dessert. Walking with his hands swaying restlessly below him. _"I don't know what I'm going to do now… what am I supposed to do? Should I go back home? Or should I just…" _He thought as his eyes drooped.

He fell forwards and slammed into the sand staring into nothing. _"I'm so confused… what am I going to do?"_ With one last thought, he drifted off to sleep feeling someone had carried him away.

Ken stirred as a few hands pushed him. He half-opened his eyes to reveal that he was pushed into some sort of gigantic round capsule. Inside were green liquid and bubbles started floating inside. "Where- where am I?" Ken whispered. A man, or a Digimon, beside him came into his view. "Ah! I see you're awake, Digimon Emperor!" he smirked. He had two horns sprouting out from his head and had a red cloak on.

"What?" Ken mumbled. "I am Daemon!" Daemon introduced. "What're you doing?" Ken asked weakly. "Don't worry… I won't hurt you! I'm just going to take something out of you!" he replied.

"Something out of me?" Ken repeated. "What do you mean?"

"You'll understand…" Daemon said. And with a snap, Ken screamed.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Yosha! That's about it in this area!" Davis cheered. "This is great! We still have 2 hours! We can have a picnic!" Yolei yelled out and raised her backpack. "Good thing I brought some snacks with me!"

"I want to have some!" Veemon ran to Yolei's backpack and started burying his head for some food. "Hey, leave some for us!" Armadillomon pouted followed by Hawkmon. Kari laid down a blanket on the ground as Davis sat on it. "I'm starving!" he smiled as he held his stomach. Suddenly…

_"Stop it! I don't want to do this anymore! I don't want to kill anymore!"_

He felt some pain in his head and used his right hand to grasp it. He silently yelped and supported himself on the ground with his left hand.

"Davis?" T.K. called as he noticed of this and approached him. "Hey! Are you alright?" T.K. asked as he held Davis' shoulder. Davis was now sweating a lot and trembled. "I-"

Ken was floating inside the capsule, his hair flying and his legs and arms dropped below him. Silent tears came out from his eyes as they all went up with the water.

"Davis?" Kari wondered. Davis slowly closed his eyes and then, in a split second fell into T.K.'s arms.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

He opened his eyes, noticing that everything was a blur. Slowly, his vision became full and found himself in a bed, 4 of his friends looking at him worriedly. "Hey… you okay?" Kari smiled modestly at him. Davis nodded and looked at everyone.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Davis! Hey, Davis! Wake up!" T.K. shook him roughly. "What happened to him?" Kari freaked. Yolei, Cody and the other digimons noticed this and started to gather around them. "Davis!" Veemon called from behind them.

"I- I don't know! He fainted all of a sudden!" T.K. explained. "What happened before he fainted?" Yolei asked. "He was holding his head and was balancing himself on the ground." T.K. snapped.

_"Does he have a headache or something?" Yolei continued. "How should I know???" T.K. half-shouted. Kari laid a hand on Davis' forehead. "He's not sick either…" That's when she noticed Davis' expression. It was as if he was in an unbearable pain and wouldn't stop wheezing and sweating._

"Then, why is he in so much pain?" Cody exclaimed. T.K. stood up and carried Davis at his back; "We'll get all the answers when we see Joe! Let's bring him back to the Real World!"

"Then we brought you back to your house!" T.K. explained everything. "You're parents freaked out when we brought you here… we had to look for another excuse!" T.K. smiled. "Luckily, they allowed us to visit you!"

"Sou desu ka?" Davis softly said. Kari nodded. "What happened back there anyway?"

Davis sat up, ready to tell them everything. "I had a vision," he snapped. "A vision?" They repeated. "Yep! A vision…"

"About what?"

Davis breathed and got it all out. "About Ken…"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"You're not looking for him, are you?" Yolei said with a despised look. "Yes, I am!" Davis nodded. "Either I'm going alone… or you guys are coming! It's your choice and I don't want to force you!" Davis spoke up seriously for the first time.

"Besides… DemiVeemon and I can handle this on our own!" Davis said as he paced his D3. "Are you guys coming or not?" DemiVeemon asked.

Everybody shot Davis a 'you're-making-a-big-mistake' look. "Fine… see you guys when I come back!" Davis said as he was sucked inside the computer with DemiVeemon in his arms.

~ To **Chapter 1: The Dark Spore…** ~


	2. Chapter 1: The Dark Spore

**Title: **No matter what…

**Pairing(s): **A little bit of T.K./Davis friendship in the beginning but Ken/Davis friendship all throughout then!

**Genre: **Angst/Drama

**Summary: **A day after Ken stopped being the Digimon Emperor, he suddenly disappears and Davis decides to go back to the Digital World to look for him! Would the other DDs help him? Or is he on his own?

**A/N: **Wow! ^_^ 8 reviews! ^_^

**To: Cynthia, Piedmon's Lady, **Well, I didn't mean "paced WITH his D3" cause what I really meant was "paced HIS D3" meaning… he gripped his D3 and got ready. Something like that… but I appreciate your correction! ^_^

**To: Ken Ichijouji, **I don't know if it's interesting… but I'm glad you saw it that way. I was waiting for someone to say that! ^_^ hehehe… weird, huh? ^_^

**To: Another World, **You think so? ^_^ Well… I do hope more people would read and review! ^_^ I would really like hearing other people's comments! ^_^

**To: deranged black kitten of doom, **Is it really that interesting? ^_^ Wow… I'm flattered!

**To: ****XxDaLoveSoveReignxX, **Yeah! I'm going to follow your advice! ^_^ And thankfully, no, this isn't going to be a shounen-ai fic. I prefer Davis/Ken friendship! ^_^

**To: mysticblackfairy, **Yes… and as you have demanded, here it is!

**To: MistyEyes, **I'm glad to hear that… being a Digimon fan can last FOREVER! ^_^ Hahaha…

**To: heath_999, **Hey, it's the great Meagan Heath! ^_^ Hahaha… I'm so glad you loved my fic… ^_^

Gosh… all of your reviews made me blush. Arigatou, minna! ^_^

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Chapter 1: The Dark Spore… 

Ken's hollow eyes kept open wide without a single blink. He tried to move his body but it won't follow him…

"Why… are you doing this?" Ken whispered as he floated inside the capsule. "'Why?' You ask. For power, Digimon Emperor! I need your power!" Daemon answered. "But… I'm not the Digimon Emperor anymore!" Ken argued.

"No, no… that's not what I meant, Ken Ichijouji!" Daemon mocked. "I have implanted a Dark Spore within you and it continues to feed off from your fears!"

"My fears?" Ken asked innocently.

No answer.

"Why me? Why do you have to implant the spore to me?" Ken cried.

"You had such great fears, Ken Ichijouji! Fears that are never material! Fears that reach inside your heart… the fear of the loss of your dear brother!"

"How did-"

"Besides… you don't like someone else sacrificing for you, right?" Daemon asked as Ken remained silent. "I thought so," he said as he walked around.

"It seems that someone is here to join the party…" Daemon said as he took out a small crystal ball inside his cloak. A boy with his Digimon came out the computer and looked around.

Ken managed to see who it was at the glance of his eye. "D- Davis…" Ken softly said, finally closing his eyes and allowing sleep to take over him.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Well… let's start Veemon!" Davis was about to take a step when the Computer glowed again and out came a lavender-haired girl with her Digimon, Hawkmon.

"What're you doing here, Yolei?" Davis exclaimed.

"I'm here to help you, duh!!" Yolei grumbled. "I can't just sit and watch everything happen just like that, right?" she snapped.

"Um… right!" Davis gave out a fake smile.

"Besides, I want to talk to him before anyone else!" Yolei said while blushing. "Yes, Yolei has a crush on Ken!" Hawkmon nodded. "HAWKMON!!"

"What! It's true, right? I read it in your diary!" Hawkmon explained.

"You read my DIARY?!?!?!" Yolei yelled. "Am I not allowed to?" Hawkmon hid behind Davis' legs. Davis and Veemon started laughing and finally, Davis stopped their argument.

"Let's just go, guys! Okay?" Davis said, they started to leave when again; the computer glowed and out came T.K. with Patamon.

"T.K., what're YOU doing here?" Davis asked, bewildered. "We're coming with you guys!" T.K. winked and gave a thumb-up. "Kari will come along as well… she's still persuading Cody to come!" T.K. added.

"Well… I know Cody, and it's pretty hard to persuade him!" Yolei sighed.

"Don't worry, if anyone can't do it… then I'm sure Kari can!" Davis said. And speaking of the devil… Cody, Kari, Gatomon and Armadillomon just came out from the computer. "See?" Davis smiled.

"Sorry we're late! So, shall we go?" Kari smiled. "If we're going to look for Ken then, 5 heads are better than 1!" ^_^

"Don't forget us!" Gatomon said from below. "Oops… sorry, guys!" Kari smiled referring to their digimons.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Armadillomon said as he raised his paws.

_'Wait for us, Ken! We're coming to get you!' _Davis thought as they started their search for Ken.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

_Fears…_

_He's feeding me off by my fears. It's a good thing, right?_

_I will never have fears ever again! I will never wake up at night and have dreams of Sam! I will never fear the darkness anymore…_

**_"For Power, Digimon Emperor! I need your power!" He remembered Daemon say._**

_Why does he need my power?_

_And besides…_

_I am not the Digimon Emperor… I told you, I'M NOT THE DIGIMON EMPEROR ANYMORE! I don't want to hurt anybody!_

**_But you did… you hurt the ones you love!_**

****

_Stop bugging me! Get out of my head!_

**_I am just telling you the truth… you have hurt the ones you love!_**

****

_I… I…_

**_Wormmon… your parents… those innocent digimons… you friends!_**

****

_I don't have friends! I never had any!_

**_And you said you're not the Digimon Emperor anymore… you still act like him._**

****

I… I… 

**_Join me, Ken Ichijouji! And we will surely rule the Digital World!_**

****

NO!!! **Thank you for your cooperation, Ken Ichijouji!** What? What do you mean? 

**_You will never have fears… you will never fear darkness… you will never feel love and you will never be the same again!_**

****

What? What're you talking about!!! DAEMON!!! 

The shrill laugh of Daemon echoed through the whole place as Ken struggled to open his eyes inside the huge capsule. Slowly, reaching out for somebody. He felt considerably cold and finally, he started to drift once again.

It's not for sleep.

It's for the end.

~ To **Chapter 2: Ken's gone! He's not the one!** ~


	3. Chapter 2: Ken's gone! He's not the one!

**Title: **No matter what…

**Pairing(s): **A little bit of T.K./Davis friendship in the beginning but Ken/Davis friendship all throughout then!

**Genre: **Angst/Drama

**Summary: **A day after Ken stopped being the Digimon Emperor, he suddenly disappears and Davis decides to go back to the Digital World to look for him! Would the other DDs help him? Or is he on his own?

**A/N: **Cool! ^_^ 11 more reviews!

**To: Cynthia, Piedmon's Lady, **Well, I really thought that I needn't to recall everything! ^_^ It wouldn't be a fanfiction, right? I would end up following every single detail in the real series! ^_^ But I really really appreciate your comment! ^_^

**To: Another World, **Umm… Thanks! ^_^ [Blushes] I guess I wasn't too confident of myself! ^_^ Thanks for cheering me up!

**To: Umi's love, **I am the fastest updating author??? o_O ^_^ Hmm… I don't think so… In fact, I'm a little late in updating right now! ^_^ "Ken's gone he's not the one" thing means… JUST FIND OUT and read more! ^_^ hahaha… can't spoil it, can I? ^_^

**To: ****XxDaLoveSoveReignxX, **Gosh! I'm blushing even more! ^_^ Thanks a lot!

**To: ****deranged black kitten of doom,** Okay… I'll make my chapters longer!

**To: mysticblackfaerie, **I'll write more! ^_^ hehehe…

**To: heath_999, **Hehehe… it's the least I could do. 1 review means a LOT to me! ^_^

**To: ??????, **Yeah! I'll continue as fast as I can! ^_^ I'm sorry about the late update… I'm currently writing another Digimon fanfic! Obviously, it's about Ken! ^_^

**To: Kitty-Black-Heart, **Hey! Glad you could join us here! Thanks anyway for the review! ^_^ Hehehe… Well here it is…

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

**Chapter 2: Ken's gone! He's not the one!**

"Ken…" Davis suddenly gasped and held his chest tightly. "Davis! What's wrong?" Yolei freaked out and supported Davis.

"It's… It's Ken!" Davis answered while panting.

"What happened to him?" T.K. asked as he held Davis' shoulders.

Images of Ken being thrown into the desert blinked inside his mind while struggling to keep himself conscious. Ken's eyes were not moving anymore as he lay on the hot sand. His eyes were as black as the Dark Spores and his mouth gaped open.

Davis started to panic and wheezed. "Ken! Ken!" he said nervously and quickly looking around. "Davis! Davis, tell us what's wrong!" Kari shook Davis hardly.

"Ken! He's dying! We must find him! He's dying, Kari!" Davis panicked.

"Slow down, Davis! We can't find him sooner if you panic!" T.K. comforted as Davis took a firm grip on T.K.'s shirt.

"I don't know what's happening to me…" Davis softly said falling into his knees slowly, still holding T.K.'s shirt. "What happens to Ken… happens to me!" Davis whispered.

"Davis! Davis, you must hang in there!" Yolei said. No use. Davis started to lose it… as what happened to Ken happened to him as well. Sweat became visible on every part of Davis' face and his eyes were turning as empty as a wormhole.

Slowly, falling into T.K.'s arms once again. But this time, he had the same facial expression as Ken had… somewhere out there!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Tiny drops of water echoed through the whole room as Ken lay on the ground. _'Where am I?' _He thought without moving an inch or opening his eyes. Slowly, hearing voices… children voices.

"Nii-chan! Matte yo!" A kid with indigo hair ran after the older boy. "Come and catch me, Ken!" The older boy said.

"Nii-chan!"

_'That's me…'_

"Waaaahhhh!!!" The little boy cried as he tripped over and got a bruise his knee. "Ken!" The older boy kneeled beside little Ken and looked at his little "boo-boo".

"It's just a small scratch, Ken! You'll be okay!" The older boy said with a smile. "I can't walk, Osamu-niichan!" Ken cried out loud.

"Okay, okay… I'll give you a piggy back ride, is that okay with you?" Osamu smiled at his little brother. Little Ken smiled back and climbed on Osamu's back. "Arigatou, Onii-chan!" he said.

_'Why is this memory coming back?'_

"I don't want you touching any of my things again! You understand?" Osamu yelled across the room. "People who touch other's things without permission are the scums of Earth!"

_'Why?'_

"I wish you would disappear!"

_'Stop!'_

"ONII-CHAN!"

_'STOP IT!'_

Ken sat bolt upright and stared at the desert he was on. "What the heck happened to me?" He said in a cold voice.

"Damn it, my head hurts!" He said as he rubbed the back of his head. "What the hell's fuckin' going on?" he yelled.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"W- what did you say?" Kari gasped when he heard Davis. "What did I just say?" Davis cupped his mouth with his left hand and stared wide eyes to Kari.

"'What the hell's fuckin' going on?' That's what you said!" Yolei repeated. "Did I?" Davis asked. "Yes, you did!" Cody nodded in agreement.

"I can't believe I said that!" Davis said as he continued rubbing his head.

"You've been acting very weird lately, Davis! It always has something to do about Ken whenever you faint!" T.K. snapped. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, T.K.! I can't believe all of this is happening to me!" Davis said.

"Well… as I've noticed. It seems that what's happening to Ken, happens to you!" Cody said.

"Are you sure?" Kari asked. "Well… it's only a guess! I'm not so sure about it either!" Cody replied, "Anyway, what have you got to lose?"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Ken walked the hot blazing desert as he struggled to keep up on his tracks. He wiped the sweat off of his face and continued walking…

"I'm going nowhere!" Ken said softly as he looked around the place. He noticed he was in some sort of a village… but then, what's strange is… the village was full with small eggs.

_'Ken… Ken, where are you?' _The voice of a Digimon cried. "Wormmon?" Ken said out loud and started looking for his partner Digimon.

_'Oh my god, Ken? Ken! I'm over here!' _Wormmon said. "Where?" Ken asked impatiently. Ken's digivice started to glow in pink as an egg somewhere further away from him glowed as well.

"Wormmon!" Ken gritted his teeth and went out to pull the egg from the ground. Instantly, the egg turned into a small crib and out came a little green Digimon, Leafmon!

"Leafmon?" Ken softly said. "Ken… you really came back for me!" Leafmon smiled, tears on his eyes. "Like duh, Leafmon!" Ken said without smiling. "You're my fuckin' Digimon partner!"

"Wh- what did you say, Ken?" Leafmon gasped.

"I said you're my Digimon partner! Didn't you hear me?" Ken said irritably.

_'He's not Ken! He's not the one! Ken would never say such things like those… unless, he's still the Digimon Emperor!'_ Leafmon thought nervously.

"Let's go, Leafmon!" Ken scowled as he stood up and scooped Leafmon on his arms. _'What happened to you, Ken? You haven't changed at all!' _Leafmon trembled. _'You're still the same Digimon Emperor!'_

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"It's a little faint but we can track him down by an hour or so…" Yolei said as she checked her digivice. "The only question is… what're we gonna do the moment we see him?"

"You know, I never thought about that!" T.K. said as he scratched his head.

"Well… **I** have something to ask him!" Davis paused. "What happened to him? What was the vision I saw about him? And… will he join us?" Davis smiled. "Yep! I'm going to ask him that!"

"What do you mean 'Will he join us?'? No way!" Cody exclaimed. "Don't make decisions on your own, Davis!"

"Well… it's just a question, you brat!" Davis argued.

"Watch your mouth, Davis!" T.K. joined and pushed Davis out of Cody's face.

"Then why don't you watch where your nose lands? Or else you'll lose it!" Davis pointed.

"Davis!" Kari scolded. And like a snap of reality, Davis blinked for a few moments and shook his head. "I don't feel so good!" he said as he rubbed his head.

He continued walking away followed by the others behind him.

~ To be continued ~


	4. Chapter 3: Changes

**Title: **No matter what…

**Pairing(s): **A little bit of T.K./Davis friendship in the beginning but Ken/Davis friendship all throughout then!

**Genre: **Angst/Drama

**Summary: **A day after Ken stopped being the Digimon Emperor, he suddenly disappears and Davis decides to go back to the Digital World to look for him! Would the other DDs help him? Or is he on his own?

**A/N: **I'm really sorry it took me SO long to update! I was discouraged about continuing cause maybe you may not like this story! ^^ But somehow… I was encouraged once again when I saw Ken in a manga and then, I wanted to write again! ^^

Let's continue, shall we? These are 9 latest people who reviewed… ^^ Thanks, everyone!

**To: Another World, **Yep! ^^ [Throws her hand in the air as well] AUTHOR POWER! ^^ Hahaha…

**To: Umi's love, **I'll try my best to write longer chapters… I really will! ^^ Sometimes I fail 'cause I would like to put a little bit of suspense as well! ^^ Well… I'll make it longer!

1.)He was cute? Really? ^^

2.)Well, I **am **going to continue the Digimon storyline! ^_^ It's just that I was making the other fic and it got me occupied! ^^ Read it somehow! ^^ It's called: "**A Brother's Love**" about Osamu and Ken! ^^

3.)Hmm… I think Daemon won't be in a few chapters… but he will come out to the last 3 chapters… ^^ And like I always say "READ MORE TO FIND OUT!" ^^ bwahahaha…

4.)Well… there **are** some authors who do that! ^^ I just like replying cause it's really fun! ^^ hehehe…

5.)Hehehe… ^^ If you say so… ^^ 

**To: heath_999, **You'll find out soon… like I said to "**Umi's love**" READ MORE TO FIND OUT! ^^ Bwahahahaha… ^^ pardon me…

**To: mysticblackfaerie, **LLP? ^^ Leafmon Lovers Place? Okay… I'll write more.

**To: Fictional-gal, **Hey! Welcome! As I always say when there's a newcomer "Glad you could join us!"

**To: ****XxDaLoveSoveReignxX,** Well… don't say it in French or Russian! ^^ I don't understand it anyway… ^^ hahaha…

**To: ?????,** You said that you were late in reading this… I was late in updating this! ^^ LOL!

**To: a person,** Freaky??? O_O Never thought of it that way! ^^ I'll take that as a compliment! ^^ Here's the next chapter!

**To: Carmina Burana, **Like they say: "You'll always hurt the one's you love!" ^^ Sure! I'll let you know when I see any good stories… I suggest you read "**Athena**'s" fan fictions!!! They are the BEST!!! ^^ Look up to my profile… she's in my favorite author's list! ^^

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

**Chapter 3: Changes**

"An hour or so? We've been walking for 2 hours already!" Davis complained. "No we haven't, Davis! It's been only 45 minutes!" T.K. said looking at his watch.

"WHAT!?!?" Davis exclaimed. "I'm tired already! I can't walk another step!" he pouted as he fell on his back and sat on the hot sand of the desert.

"Well… let's just take a break, shall we?" Kari offered as she took out her backpack and got out a picnic blanket. Yolei also took out her backpack and revealed a huge pile of snacks. "Wow!" All their digimons exclaimed in happiness.

"You need to regain your strength, Davis! We don't want you fainting again!" T.K. said as he sat beside the goggle-boy. "It's a long way to the Digital Gate, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah! Don't get your underwear in the bunch!" Davis said when suddenly, his head started to hurt. He grasped it tightly and kept the pain to himself. He didn't want everybody to know cause he felt he might worry them.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Ken and Wormmon walked on the hot desert, Wormmon looked up to his partner nervously when instantly, Ken stopped on his tracks. "Ken?" Wormmon gasped. "It's… starting… again!" Ken winced in pain.

"What Ken? What's starting?"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Davis can't stand but moan in pain… and to his astonishment, it became worst! "Ah!" he cried. "Davis!" Yolei shrieked. "Davis!" T.K. called as he held the shoulders of his friend.

"It's… reacting… again! I can't… stand it!" Davis groaned.

"Hold on… we'll lie you down!" T.K. panicked and he did so. Resting his friend's head on the blanket. Davis wheezed and looked up to see 3 pairs of eyes looking at him worriedly. "Something has happened to Ken…" Davis announced.

"I can feel it…"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Nyaaaaa!!!" Ken yelled in pain clutching his head in pain. "KEN!!!" Wormmon shrieked, holding Ken in the leg. "Hey! Get a hold of yourself, Ken!"

"Let… go of me!" Ken screamed once more as if the pain can cause him his death. "Ken!" Wormmon cried out loud and tears started streaming down his face. "I'm sorry I had to do this, Ken!" Wormmon apologized as he backed away.

He instantly jumped from his position and hit Ken straight in the torso rendering him unconscious. "I just can't bare seeing you like this!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"It's… it's gone!" Davis blinked a few times and then sat upright. "The pain's gone!" Davis looked at his side and back. "What's going on around here?" he asked himself.

"We're as confused as you are, Davis! That's why we came all the way here to find out!" Kari said as she ushered a hand to help Davis up.

"Yeah… come on, let's go look for Ken!" Davis nodded as he stood up by the help of Kari. "… Wherever he is!" he added.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Stupid Wormmon!" Wormmon cursed himself as he dragged his exhausted partner. "I shouldn't have done that! I can't carry Ken all by myself!" he pouted. "But… no! Don't think about only yourself! What would happen to Ken if I didn't do that? He would suffer more, right?" he asked himself anxiously as he continued dragging Ken across the desert.

"Who am I kidding? I can't do this by myself!" Wormmon sighed. When suddenly, he heard a small beep. He quickly crawled to Ken's side and saw his digivice's screen blinking.

"The other Digidestines are here!" he yelled happily but quickly changed his expression.

"Ken wouldn't want that!!!" he yelled. "Ken, wake up! Wake up!" he shook his partner up. "Please, Ken! Please wake up!"

**~ Ken's POV ~**

Everything around me is filled with darkness.

Why is there a mirror?

I gazed through the dark glass as I barely see my reflection because of the darkness. I walked closely to the mirror and the moment I saw my face. I let out a high pitch scream that rendered me to wake up.

"Ken!" I instantly woke up and I came face-to-face with 5 children. I grasped my head as I tried to recall what I saw in my reflection but nothing seems to come back to my mind.

"Are you alright, man?" Motomiya asked me. "Yeah!" I answered rudely.

"Where the heck am I?" I asked as I looked around.

"We're in a village in the Digital World… we weren't able to open the Digital Gate!" Yolei answered. "Why?" I asked, surprised.

"It's locked… by Daemon!" Cody snapped and stared at me for a long time. "K'so!" I cursed under my breath as the memories of him came back to me again.

"K'so! K'so! K'so!" I chanted as I banged my fist on the bed. And then, another topic came into my mind. "How did you find me?" I asked the DDs rudely. "We found you in the desert with Wormmon… aren't you the least bit thankful that we saved you?" Light raised an eyebrow.

"I'm really sorry, master!" A worm climbed to my side as I looked into its sad eyes. "Don't call me that…" I softly said, ignoring his apology. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"Stop saying 'sorry'!"

"Sorry…" he apologized again.

"I said STOP SAYING SORRY!" I yelled as I climbed out from bed and left them. "K'so!" I said again.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Man, he sure has an attitude!" Davis said sarcastically. "Like you don't have it either!" Yolei teased, "Something must've happened to him!"

"Like the one on the desert!" Davis suddenly said.

"The one on the desert?" The others blinked.

~ To be continued ~


	5. Chapter 4: Fear of Darkness

**Title: **No matter what…

**Pairing(s): **A little bit of T.K./Davis friendship in the beginning but Ken/Davis friendship all throughout then!

**Genre: **Angst/Drama

**Summary: **A day after Ken stopped being the Digimon Emperor, he suddenly disappears and Davis decides to go back to the Digital World to look for him! Would the other DDs help him? Or is he on his own?

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

**Chapter 4: Fear of Darkness**

You will never have fears… you will never fear darkness… you will never feel love and you will never be the same again!

Ken clasped his hands on both his ears. "Stop bugging me!" he said when suddenly, someone approached him. He looked up to see the maroon haired goggle-boy. "Ken…" Davis softly said. "May I join you?"

"Sure, whatever…" Ken answered rudely facing away and hugging his knees. Davis sat beside the genius. "Something bothering you?" Davis asked when Ken instantly slammed his fist to a tree trunk nearby. Davis's eyes widened in surprise and jumped.

"What is this feeling?" Ken asked himself.

"Feeling?"

Ken tried to calm himself down but he can't get all the anger out. "Something in here hurts…" Ken pointed his finger to his chest. "It's been hurting ever since… and I'm really confused about the whole matter." Ken explained calmly.

"Tell me, Ken!" Davis changed the subject. "It's been bothering me lately…" Davis paused. "And I want you to tell me the truth… why is it… all the things happening to you are happening to me?" Davis waited for the answer.

"I don't know…" Ken answered which left a disappointed look on Davis's face. "I really don't know!" Ken hugged himself closer. "Ever since Daemon captured me-" Ken suddenly stopped.

"He captured you?" Davis raised his voice. "I don't want to talk about it!" Ken quickly said, starting to leave when Davis caught him by the wrist. "Tell me what happened, Ken!" Davis ordered.

"I said I don't want to talk about it!" But Davis didn't pay attention to Ken's pleads. "Tell me now, or else!" Davis snarled.

"Or else what?" Ken fought back but instantly fell to his knees and hugged himself.

"K- Ken?"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Ken felt his energy being drawn out of him and couldn't move an inch. "You'll feel better with this…" Yolei laid a blanket over Ken. Ken didn't even stir and kept hugging himself as if someone who pull him away.

"Drink this!" Kari handed him a cup of hot chocolate and he took it gently. "Arigatou…" Ken can't help but say it.

"No problem…" Kari said. He stared at his own reflection in the liquid, when suddenly; a shrill scream escaped his throat. "W- where are they?" Ken gasped.

"What Ken?" T.K. wondered.

"Th- they're not there!" Ken trembled as he dropped the cup to the floor. "M- my eyes… they're gone!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Ken sat on the corner, trembling as he hugged himself like a scared child. _"You'll never have fears again… you'll never fear the darkness!"_

"That's all a LIE!" Ken yelled at the top of his voice but stopped. "But… I'm not afraid of darkness right now… what is this that I'm afraid of?" he asked himself. "What the heck am I afraid of then?" he yelled again.

"Ken…" he jumped in surprise when he heard a small voice. "What?" Ken asked coldly. "It's me… Wormmon!" A small 10-legged creature came out from the shadows. "Are you okay?"

"Do I _look_ okay?" Ken asked the obvious.

"Well… no, of course not! I know how you f-"

"Nobody'll understand how I feel!" Ken interrupted and faced away, gripping his hug into a tight squeeze. Wormmon crawled beside his best friend and hugged him by the side. It struck Ken like lightning when he felt the familiar warmth of the little Digimon.

"I'll always try my best to understand you, Ken!" Wormmon paused. "Cause you are my best friend!" Ken can't help but smile a bit and dropping his head. "Thank you, Wormmon!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"He took out the Dark Spore inside of you?" Yolei asked again. Ken nodded and stared at his palms. "He said he took all of my fears away…" Ken suddenly stopped and lowered his voice down, "…and I would never feel love again."

"Well… isn't that a good thing? I mean… you would never feel fear again, right?" Yolei asked without hearing what Ken said after that.

"I don't think so. That's what I thought at first but I've been acting weird lately!"

"Yeah… we noticed!" Davis said snobbishly. "You've been acting weird lately too, Davis!" Kari pointed. "Everything that's been happening to Ken is happening to Davis as well!" T.K. butted in.

"No it doesn't!" Both Davis and Ken said in unison and then, looked at each other.

"Right…" T.K. raised an eyebrow. "We've gotta find Daemon… fast!"

"And what will you tell him? 'Daemon, can you please return the Dark Spore to Ken so that he will feel fear once more?' Puh-lease! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Yolei crossed her arms.

Davis sighed. "Then what do you suggest we ask him, huh?"

"We can't let that happen either. Otherwise, Ken would be taunted by the Dark side!" Kari said anxiously. "That's the price I'm willing to pay…" Ken stood up. "After all the things that I've done." He whispered.

"We won't allow that!" Davis yelled as everybody looked at him. "I'm going to find a way!"

"Count on it!"

~ To be continued! ~


	6. Chapter 5: One of us!

**Title: **No matter what…

**Pairing(s): **A little bit of T.K./Davis friendship in the beginning but Ken/Davis friendship all throughout then!

**Genre: **Angst/Drama

**Summary: **A day after Ken stopped being the Digimon Emperor, he suddenly disappears and Davis decides to go back to the Digital World to look for him! Would the other DDs help him? Or is he on his own?

**A/N:** **12 reviews** from Chapter 4 and onwards!!! ^^

**To: Midnight-shooting star,** Hey! ^^ I'm so glad you still read my fic! ^^

**To: Emerald Star, **Hehehe… sorry! I didn't know they kept on screaming! ^^ It's just that, this part is where they get into a LOT of fuss… and I just kept on writing without reading the whole story again! ^^ hahaha! Okay… I'll fix those sentences! ^^

Which part of the eyes? Well… I can't really say much about it, but… everything is entirely black and hollow like as if Ken is possessed or something. ^^ I'm sorry I couldn't find the right words! ^^

**To: Love Prophecy,** ^^ "K'so!" means "Darn!" Some spell it as "Kuso" but a friend of mine said that "Kuso" means "Fantasy" so; I just use "K'so!" ^^

**To: heath_999,** ^^ Thanks, Sam! ^^ Hahahaha!

**To: Lavos, The Time Apocalypse, **Yeah! ^^ I_ knew_ it was Millenniumon… it's just that… Daemon is my favorite Digimon villain! ^^ Hahahaha! But… I'll pass the word! ^^

**To: Another World, **I'm glad you still read my fic too, Another World! I really appreciate it! ^^

**To: KOI, **like I said to "**Love Prophecy**" It means… "Darn!"

**To: EXV_ASIA,** I'm glad you liked it! ^^ I just _love_ connections between Davis and Ken! ^^ Hohoho! ^^

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

**Chapter 5: One of us!**

Ken looked up at the starry night, the wind slowly blowing his hair to his face as he sat and hugged himself again. He stared blankly to the dark sky with his mouth gaped open. "May I join you?" He heard a voice speak. He faced to his side and saw the goggle-boy leader.

"Y- yeah…" Ken blurted. Davis sat beside the X-Kaiser and joined him in his "sight seeing". The silence was broke off when Ken began, "Why are you doing all of this?"

"Eh?" Davis looked at Ken. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… why are you helping so much? What's your motive?" Ken asked while looking into the brave eyes of the boy next to him.

"Because you're one of us!" Davis said which made Ken's heart skip a beat. "You're a Chosen Child too, Ken!"

"And what if I'm not?" Ken demanded. Davis raised an eyebrow, "You are! You have the Crest of Kin-"

"No… what if I don't have it?" Ken paused. "I mean -- Everything is the same… I was the Digimon Emperor, you defeated me, and you saw me in the desert…" Ken enumerated.

"But the only thing's not the same is that I don't have the Crest of Kindness. Will you still help me?" Ken asked without looking at Davis.

Davis didn't answer. "Will you, Davis?" Ken asked again then stood up to leave.

"I will."

Ken's eyes widened as he stopped at his tracks. "You might not understand me -- but I have my reasons. I don't want to see people suffer! And I don't want to be helpless…"

Ken looked down as he clutched his fists… and finally walked away.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"So… you talked to him already?" Yolei asked Davis. "Yeah…" Davis sighed.

"What did he say?"

"Why are we helping him? He wanted to know why." Davis explained. "I wasn't able to answer at first, but I told him that he was one of us! And… that's the truth!"

Yolei remained silent for a while as a modest smile appeared in her lips. "You know, you don't need a reason for everything…"

"Huh?" Davis looked up to the older girl.

"Life is like a book… each day turns a page. Each page contains memories. Whether good or bad, unforgotten or forgotten. It'll always be written in those pages." Yolei smiled.

"I- I don't understand, Yolei!" Davis wondered. "Of course, you don't!" Yolei laughed. "But… you'll understand soon enough, Davis!"

Their conversation was cut off when they heard a glass break and then was followed by running footsteps. "What was that?" Davis asked. They decided to check it out… They walked in the dark hallway of the small house and noticed that the broken glass lay on the floor beside a trail of bloodstains.

"Somebody's must've bruised his finger and ran for some bandage." Davis joked. "Shut up, Davis!" Yolei bellowed, walking further into the hallway. "Kari? T.K.? Cody?" Yolei called.

No answer. "Hawkmon?" Still no answer.

"That's right! The others are out fishing for dinner!" Yolei explained.

"Ken?" Davis ignored Yolei; he walked furthermore into the hallway and felt that a shallow breathing can be heard. His heart started to ache as well as he clutched his chest.

_"It's Ken!"_ his mind panicked as he dashed to the trail of blood. He finally stopped when he reached a room and saw Ken sprawled on the floor.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Ken!" he ran to him but ended up falling into his knees as well. "Davis!" Yolei knelt down beside the boy. "What's wrong with Ken?" Davis asked as he forced himself to sit up.

"Ken! Hey, man! What the heck's going on?" Davis shook the unconscious boy on the floor. He noticed that blood was coming out from the boy's mouth and that his face was pale and white. "He's out cold, Davis!" Yolei said as she tried to place Ken's arm around her shoulder.

"Let's get him to a bed!" Davis tried desperately to stand up.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"We should've been here when it happened…" Wormmon sighed sadly. "It's not your fault, Wormmon! Stop worrying about it… Ken just had a seizure." Yolei explained. "_Just_?" Kari raised her voice.

"Okay… he _had_ a seizure!" Yolei corrected.

"That was a weird feeling indeed!" Davis suddenly joined the conversation. "It's as if everything inside my body was suddenly sucked away and I instantly fell!"

"You should rest too, Davis!" Kari approached the goggle boy and laid a blanket over him as they were left in utter silence. "What happened to him anyway?" T.K. broke the silence off as he approached the sleeping boy on the bed and touched his forehead. "He's as cold as ice!"

"We really didn't know what happened… we just heard a loud thump and the next thing we knew, we found him on the ground, unconscious!" Yolei explained.

Ken stirred and winced. His dark and hollow eyes became visible to everybody as he moaned. "Hey! How are you feeling, Ken?" T.K. asked. Ken didn't answer and continued to stare the Child of Hope with those lonely eyes.

"You know, you look like a lifeless person when you stare at us like that!" Cody made a sarcastic comment. "Ken?" Cody waved his hand through Ken's eyes but the boy didn't respond or blink.

"KEN???" Davis panicked.

~ To be continued ~


	7. Chapter 6: I understand!

**Title: **No matter what…

**Pairing(s): **A little bit of T.K./Davis friendship in the beginning but Ken/Davis friendship all throughout then!

**Genre: **Angst/Drama

**Summary: **A day after Ken stopped being the Digimon Emperor, he suddenly disappears and Davis decides to go back to the Digital World to look for him! Would the other DDs help him? Or is he on his own?

**A/N:** I'm SOOOOO sorry guys!!!! X-( I can't believe I left this fic without finishing it! =( Writer's block! (You know how it feels! ^^)

**To: Love Prophecy,** Thanks! ^^

**To: heath_999,** Glad to have your memory back! ^^

**To: Emerald Star,** You'll know soon! XD

**To: deranged black kitten of doom,** this time… I promise I won't leave unfinished fictions! ^^ For the sake of my sanity and the people reading it! XD LOL!

**To: Tarishoi Alex,** I will… I'm glad you liked it! ^^ Thanks.

**To: KOI,** XD Remind me to add you as one of the characters here in "No Matter What"

**To: evil little person,** swallow? ^^ Yeah… sort of! XD Hahaha!

**To: Ann0071, **Hey, Jamie Bond! Don't worry… I won't hurt Ken-chan! XD

**To: PrincessOfMirrors,** Thanks for inspiring me to continue writing this fic, PrincessOfMirrors! ^^ I had a writer's block… luckily, I'm writing all my notes down in my pocket notebook from now on! XD

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

**  
Chapter 6: I understand!**

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Hey! Snap out of it!" Davis shook Ken hard, but it was of no use… for Ken only stayed limp, "You're starting to scare us, man!" Davis yelled once again but was answered by the same silence. "Stop it, Davis! You're hurting him!" Yolei shrieked as she pushed Davis away.

"Ke-"

"I can't take it anymore…" They heard a whisper, and it was coming from Ken, "_Why does it have to be me_?" Ken yelled and with that, he ran away as fast as he could. "Ken!" Davis and the others yelled in chorus as they ran after the 'Rocket'.

It was starting to rain. And Ken didn't care. Apart from all the anger and pain he felt inside his heart, he can't help but notice that there's a feeling of relief inside as well. The feeling of relief for the rain. "Ken! Please come back!" he heard Davis yell but paid no attention at all.

_'Why can't I be just a normal person? If the digivice never had appeared in my life… then I would've never become the Digimon Emperor! None of this would've happened! And…'_ He paused as he felt tears stinging his eyes. _'I would still have my brother!'_

Ken stopped at the forest and instantly took a large rock from the ground. "K'SO!!!" He yelled as he slammed the rock _right into his eyes!!!_ "K'so. K'so. K'so." He chanted as he repeatedly hit himself with the rock. Slowly, blood and tears came rushing out from his eyes.

"Stop it!!!" Davis scolded as he grabbed Ken by the wrist, "Why are you doing this, Ken? Why are you hurting yourself?" Davis said as he wrestled the rock away from Ken. "Because _I'm_ miserable! I hate my life! I hate myself! And I hate you _digidestines_!" He snapped, which widened the eyes of all the digidestines and the Digimons.

"Wishing for a normal life will always be left as a fantasy for me! Cause I know it will never happen!" Ken growled. Everyone kept silent as Davis looked at Ken's eyes nervously. "If that's what you feel… then why didn't you tell us?" Davis asked.

"You wouldn't understand!" Ken yelled, which made everyone jump, "When did you ever understand? I'm sick and tired of everything! You're treating me as if I'm a guinea pig!" He pointed.

Ken screamed in anger as loud as he can to the sky. "You're mad!" Cody trembled, not at the coldness of the whether but because of Ken's actions. "Ken!" Davis embraced Ken tightly from behind and leaned his head on Ken's back, "Just. Stop it!"

Ken dropped his head as the blood and rain soaked his face. "We had never treated you that way! I know we don't understand… so please, make us understand!" Davis softly said, "Please Ken… understand us too!"

Ken's eyes widened from behind his drenched bangs and can't help but sigh, "You can let me go now, Davis." Ken smiled, "It's alright…"

"…Cause I understand."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

_/Ken stopped at the forest and instantly took a large rock from the ground. "K'SO!!!" He yelled as he slammed the rock _right into his eyes_!!! "K'so. K'so. K'so." He chanted as he repeatedly hit himself with the rock. Slowly, blood and tears came rushing out from his eyes._

_"Stop it!!!" Davis scolded as he grabbed Ken by the wrist, "Why are you doing this, Ken? Why are you hurting yourself?" Davis said as he wrestled the rock away from Ken. "Because I'm miserable! I hate my life! I hate myself! And I hate you digidestines!" He snapped, which widened the eyes of all the digidestines and the Digimons._

"Wishing for a normal life will always be left as a fantasy for me! Cause I know it will never happen!" Ken growled. Everyone kept silent as Davis looked at Ken's eyes nervously. "If that's what you feel… then why didn't you tell us?" Davis asked.

_"You wouldn't understand!" Ken yelled, which made everyone jump, "When did you ever understand? I'm sick and tired of everything! You're treating me as if I'm a guinea pig!" He pointed._

_Ken screamed in anger as loud as he can to the sky. "You're mad!" Cody trembled, not at the coldness of the whether but because of Ken's actions./_

These thoughts plagued Cody's mind over and over again. It had stopped raining at the time of the sunset. Cody sat on a large rock that afternoon, looking at the beautiful sun. Something was wrong with him; he wasn't able to put the right finger on it.

"Cody?" A voice behind him said as he turned around. "T.K." He said. "May I join you?" T.K. asked as Cody nodded. "The both of them are finally asleep… it's like they have been twins for a long time now!" T.K. laughed at the thought, "I really don't get them sometimes!"

"T.K.?" Cody interrupted. "Yeah, Cody?" T.K. answered.

"I think- I think… I understand them!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Ken? Davis?" Kari and Yolei knocked on the door, "We brought you guys some food!" Yolei said, as she knocked on the door again. Kari looked at Yolei as the both of them shrugged. "We're coming in, okay?" Kari called and the open the door to reveal the two of the boys squatting on the floor.

"Shh!" Ken placed his index finger on his lip. Kari and Yolei nodded but they exchanged puzzled looks. "Okay… that's that, Davis!" Ken smiled his best as he looked at the goggle-head. "You may open your eyes now!" Ken tried to blink but was having difficulties on doing so since his left eye and forehead were surrounded with bandages. The part on his right eye also had numerous cuts and slashes.

Ken wiped his sweat away when he noticed Davis didn't open his eyes. "Davis? Are you listening to me?" Ken called, "Davis?" This time… they were starting to panic.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"This time… I'm the one who didn't quite get the point here!" T.K. scratched his head. "I mean… think about it, T.K.! The first time we saw him, he was a deranged Digimon Emperor obsessed in killing Digimon! Now, he's…" He trailed off.

_/"You know, you look like a lifeless person when you stare at us like that!" Cody made a sarcastic comment. "Ken?" Cody waved his hand through Ken's eyes but the boy didn't respond or blink./_

/"I can't take it anymore…" They heard a whisper, and it was coming from Ken, "Why does it have to be me?" Ken yelled and with that, he ran away as fast as he could. "Ken!" Davis and the others yelled in chorus as they ran after the 'Rocket'./

"…Changed!" Cody finally found the right word. "Well… maybe he truly is a kind person!" T.K. grinned as he looked at the sun fall, "Maybe I was wrong… 'Never judge a book by its cover!' That's what I used to think about Ken… but right now…"

"I think first impressions do last!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Davis!" It was Ken's turn to shake the goggle-boy out of his wits. "Davis! Wake up!" Ken yelled. "Huh? What?" Davis rubbed his eyes as he blinked a couple of times. Ken blinked for a while until he understood the whole situation.

"You idiot!" Ken yelled. "Eh? What did I do?" Davis asked as he looked around at the 3 Digidestines looking a little pissed off. "Davis, you were asleep the whole time???" Yolei yelled irritably. "We should've known! We knew it was unbelievable!" Kari shook her head as she laid a hand on her forehead.

"You had me so worried!" Ken pouted as he faced away and crossed his arms. "S- sorry…" Davis apologized, "Thanks, Ken!"

Ken still looked away with the pout on his face. He felt really insulted… but the same time, he was relieved. "Baka!" he muttered.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

T.K. and Cody came back to the little Digi Hut and found that Ken was ignoring Davis the whole time. "Did we miss something?" T.K. asked as both T.K. and Cody blinked. "Nothing in particular!" Kari and Yolei chuckled.

Cody blinked again. He suddenly felt a cold chill up his spine when something from behind him moved. "Guys! Did you hear that?" Cody asked. "Hear what, Cody?" Davis asked.

"Something… something moved – a while ago!" Cody said as he went out of the hut again and scanned the whole place. "Be careful, Cody!" Ken was the one who said it.

"Hai!" Cody said, not sounding appreciated. There it was again, some sort of shadow move at the corner of Cody's glance. "Come out!" Cody yelled to the trees and bushes.

Silence.

"Come out, or else!"

Silence once again.

"Or else what?" A dark voice sneered. The next thing Cody knew, he was caught by something from his throat as the other digidestines screams rang to his head.

~ To be continued ~


	8. Chapter 7: Trouble with the Dark Spore

**Title: **No matter what…

**Pairing(s): **A little bit of T.K./Davis friendship in the beginning but Ken/Davis friendship all throughout then!

**Genre: **Angst/Drama

**Summary: **A day after Ken stopped being the Digimon Emperor, he suddenly disappears and Davis decides to go back to the Digital World to look for him! Would the other DDs help him? Or is he on his own?

**To: lilyqueen777,** Hey! You must be new here! ^^ So happy you could join us! ^^ I'm glad you liked my story… well… cliffhangers _do_ make a story nice, ne? XD

**To: Another World, **Yup! ^^ Finally updated! It's good to be back!

**To: Ann0071,** XD Hahahaha! Guess I couldn't help myself! XD Well… like they say, "You'll always hurt the ones you love!" XD

**To: KOI,** Yup! ^^ Love cliffhangers this time! ^^ Don't worry, guys! I promise I won't leave the fic unfinished this time! ^^

**To: heath_999,** I'm updating here for you to find out! XD Hahahaha!

**To: Hakuryu08,** Well… all the things that are happening to Ken… are happening to Davis! ^^ Yes – that's it! ^^ Ken? Mad? Well, actually… he's just actually blaming everything on the DDs! ^^ Poor Ken! =,(

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

**Chapter 7: Trouble with the Dark Spore**

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"_K'so! _Let. Me. Go." Cody struggled as he was lifted off the ground. "Cody!" Ken gasped from below, "What the-" There was nothing holding him from above except a gust of black smoke. "Help." Cody yelped in a whisper.

"Let him go!" Ken told the shadow. "Never." The shadow snapped, "Unless…"

"Unless, what?" Ken asked bravely.

"You surrender yourself to Lord Daemon!" The shadow said. Everyone's eyes widened. "No. Don't do it. Ken." Cody struggled.

"What does Daemon need Ken for? He had already taken out the Dark Spore out of him!" Davis explained, seeming he knew everything that had happened to the indigo-haired genius in his vision. "Oh… it is not what Lord Daemon wants from Ken… but what Ken wants from Lord Daemon!" The shadow sneered. "What?" Ken half-shouted.

"I am simply a messenger! And I'm here to take you back!"

"Messenger, my ASS!" Ken yelled back.

"Ah- ah- ah! Watch your mouth, Ichijouji!" The shadow threatened as he started tightening his grip around Cody's neck. "Cody!" TK yelled out desperately for his friend. Cody's eyes were beginning to close up on him… he couldn't take it anymore. Slowly, his arms started to limp as they fell heavily beside him.

"Cody!" Yolei cried as she looked back to the shadow, "You creep!"

"Fine! I'll do it!" Ken yelled, unable to stand the pain in Cody's expression. "Ken!" Davis frowned. "Just… let Cody go!" Ken pleaded to the Shadow as the shadow smiled in triumph. He dropped Cody to the ground as the brunette's body went limp.

"But before I do…" He sneered as he snapped his fingers. Cody's eyes instantly opened and it turned crimson red. Cody slowly stood up and faced all of the Digidestines with emotionless red eyes. "Child of Knowledge… I order you to attack them all!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"No… don't do it, Cody!" Davis said as Cody landed a punch on Davis's torso. Davis fell on one knee and grasped his chest in search for air. "Cody! Fight it! Don't get lured to the darkness!" Ken said as Cody went to Ken next.

"No use saying that, Ichijouji! You can't control the Dark Spore _that_ easily!" The shadow laughed out loud in an evil, obscene laughter. "Dark Spore?" TK repeated, "You planted a Dark Spore inside Cody?"

"Finally you realized such a simple tactic, fool!" The shadow mocked. "Shut up!" TK answered back and instantly looked back at the Child of Knowledge, "Cody! You have to snap out if this trance!"

"This isn't a trance, you fool!" Cody smirked as he looked at his own palms, "It's reality! I can feel the power… it's burning inside of me!" Cody laughed cynically. "Cody! You're going to regret it for the rest of your life! Please, fight it now before it's too late!" Ken yelled to his friend, making him realize the feeling of the Dark Spore.

"Shut up, Child Prodigy!" Cody pointed out, "You have no right to tell me that!"

"There's no way out to this! The Dark Spore will _never_ leave his body!" Ken said in a retreating voice. "How can you say that?" TK almost yelled. "It took me 6 blasted years to get rid of mine, that's why!" Ken yelled quickly which made them jump, "In fact, the Dark Spore would've still been with me if it weren't for Daemon! But if _he _too collects Cody's… I'm sure he'll suck all the life out of him!"

Kari's eyes widened. Yolei looked more nervous than ever. TK was speechless. "Like what he did to me…" Ken whispered, but barely enough for them to hear. Little did he know that Davis heard it, "We have to save Cody this time! We just… have to think of some way to get him back! Like how we got Ken back!" Davis said to the gang.

"What? Are you saying that you'll kill Armadillomon too?" TK raised his voice, "Forget it, Davis!"

"I _never_ said that, TJ!" Davis argued.

"Then what do you think we should do, Davis?" Yolei asked, "I mean… what do we have to get him out of this?"

"Words…" Davis grinned.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

_'Where am I?'_ Cody wandered around the dark place, seeing nothing but the glow of red in his eyes with the darkness around. _'What is this place?'_ Suddenly, he felt a cold sensation at his spine and shivered, slowly… he knelt down and felt his body weakening.

"It- it hurts!" He wheezed as he grasped his torso, _'Wh- why am I in so much pain?'_ He crouched into a ball as he let himself fall to the ground, "G- guys… h- help m- me…"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Cody laughed as he saw TK and Davis fall back, "We can't even get close to him, Davis! How are we supposed to talk to him?" TK asked as he regained himself to sit up. He could see that Ken, Yolei, Wormmon, and Hawkmon were trying to attack the shadow.

"We can't attack him either!" Armadillomon agreed. "He needs to stop squirming around, you know!" Tailmon joked at a time like this. "So, I say… Let's go distract him!" Tailmon faced Patamon and the both of them went forward to Cody. "Wait!" TK and Kari yelled, but both Tailmon and Patamon didn't pay any attention to their partners.

Patamon started flying around Cody's head, which made the boy, wave his hand madly in the air. Tailmon ran around Cody's feet too. "That's not what I had in mind…" Davis blinked, "But I guess it would work!" He said as he stood up to run to Cody but he was caught off guard when TK ran before him causing him to blink some more.

"TK?"

TK instantly lunged himself at the back of Cody, squeezing him tightly in torso. "Cody! Snap out of it!" TK yelled. "Let go of me you stupid Digidestined!" Cody struggled. "No! You're a Digidestined too!" This made Cody's eyes return to its normal color, but then, it went crimson again. "We're supposed to help each other! I'm not letting you go!"

Cody yelled in anger as he squirmed to break free from TK. "Fight it, Cody! We know you're in there somewhere! You can fight it!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Fight it, Cody! We know you're in there somewhere! You can fight it!"

_"TK?"_ Cody looked up from his position as tears welled up his eyes.

"Be strong, Cody!"

_"Davis?"_

"Don't let it get to you!"

"Go go go! Just a little bit more!"

_"Kari? Yolei?"_

"Don't give up like what I did!"

_"Ken."_

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Cody screamed as he felt his head burn in pain. TK's eyes widened when he saw tears brimming from Cody's eyes. "Cody!" TK was relieved and worried at the same time.

"The Darkness will always win in the end!" The Shadow smirked as he raised his hand to increase Cody's pain, but then, a pink digivice was held in front of his face. "You're wrong, weirdo!" Kari smirked as light emitted from her digivice and the Shadow screamed as it dissolved into light.

Cody's scream faded when a seed sprouted out from the back of his neck and went out cold, "Is he okay?" Yolei, Ken and Kari ran up to the Child of Hope's side. "Yeah… he's okay!" TK smiled as he allowed the boy to sleep in his lap. The tears appearing from Cody's cheek was reflected by the night's moon. "Oh, Cody…" Yolei whispered as she wiped the tears away from Cody's eyes.

Everybody suddenly jumped when they heard a soft moan coming from the Child of Knowledge. "Hey, champ!" Davis smiled.

"Did- did we get him?" Cody asked.

"Yup! We did!" Ken smiled.

"Good." Cody smiled back, surrendering back to sleep.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

He was once again engaged in looking at the sun. This time, it was rising… for the battle with the shadow happened at nighttime. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" He heard a voice behind him and turned around to see TK.

"Can't sleep. I wanted to see the sun again!" Cody answered emotionlessly.

"Everything's back to normal I can see!" TK smiled. "What does _that_ supposed to mean?" Cody raised an eyebrow. "Nothing." TK quickly said, too quickly. Cody didn't believe his friend's answer, but he just accepted it. He stared at the Child of Hope as the both of them fell into silence.

Once again, he stared at the sun as the boy beside him did so too. "It's good to be back!" He started which startled TK. "_Hai_?" TK asked in pardon. "I said it's good to be back!" Cody smiled, "Thanks for saving me, TK!"

TK blinked. "It's not like it was only me who did it, Cody! All of us did!" TK smiled, "Cause we know that each of us would the same for the other too!"

Cody nodded, "Yeah!"

"Thanks, guys!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Ken can't help himself smile at the thought about last night as he rested his head on the tree. He slowly closed his eyes and tried to recall,

_/"Hey, champ!" Davis smiled._

_"Did- did we get him?" Cody asked._

_"Yup! We did!" Ken smiled._

_"Good." Cody smiled back, surrendering back to sleep./_

"I'm glad you're safe!" He said to himself, although he was referring it to Cody. "Yeah! I'm glad too!" He jumped and his eyes instantly open when he felt that small voice behind him. "C- Cody!" Ken turned red, as if he was caught in a dead end. "You act as if we are strangers, Ken!" Cody smiled as he walked up beside the indigo-haired boy and sat next to him.

"I thank you guys for saving me last night!"

"No problem… Cody." Ken softly said. He didn't know whether he should act like a friend from a very long time… or just a newly found friend. "Now I know how you feel…" Cody began as Ken stared for a while at him.

"Eh?"

"When you are being controlled by a Dark Spore!" Cody meant. "It's… it's really scary!"

Ken nodded in agreement.

"It was as if every emotion you have is sucked out of it! My body was really numb and I was in so much pain! I really can't stand it any longer!" Cody explained, "Experiencing a feeling like that makes me hate the Darkness more-"

"Don't think about it!" Ken cut him off, making the conversation more interesting. "The more you think about it… the more it brings sad and painful memories!" Ken sighed sadly.

"You're right!" Cody nodded.

"But then… the Darkness can be useful!"

"It is?"

"You can never see the Light when Darkness never reigns!" Ken explained, "I've learned _that_ lesson!"

Cody blinked for a while as he showed pure confusion in Ken's words. Ken just smiled and stood up, reaching out a hand for Cody to hold on. "Let's go back, shall we?"

Cody blinked at him again as he smiled and grabbed the X-Kaiser's hand, "Sure!"

_~ To be continued ~_

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Yes, it's longer!!! ^^ Well… this is a treat for you guys for you have been so patient in my ficcie! ^^ _Arigatou, minna!_ ^^ This time… I'll be able to finish it for I have finished one of my unfinished stories! ^^ Tee hee hee!

**Digimon Kaiser:** Quit the yapping and leave already!

**Klyukaizer:** Alright, alright! Sheesh! We're both Kaisers here, you know!

**Digimon Kaiser:** Yeah! Whatever!

R&R!


	9. Chapter 8: Remembering all the Pain

**Title: **No matter what…

**Pairing(s): **A little bit of T.K./Davis friendship in the beginning but Ken/Davis friendship all throughout then!

**Genre: **Angst/Drama

**Summary: **A day after Ken stopped being the Digimon Emperor, he suddenly disappears and Davis decides to go back to the Digital World to look for him! Would the other DDs help him? Or is he on his own?

**To: Another World, **Well… it's just that- I feel really flattered from all the reviews you guys give me! ^^ And I'm really thankful… I want to hear other people's opinions too, cause I'm trying to make myself improve! ^^ Really… thanks, guys! ^^

**To: LoveSovereign, **Hahahahahaha! XD I'll do that next time!

**To: MidNight-sho0tingstar,** Unusual? ^^ That wasn't what I had in mind! XD****

**To: Ann0071,** XD *stares at the finally free Ken plushie* Poor thing! XD Two words; Thank 'ya! XD

**To: KOI,** Hey! It's been a while! ^^ Yeah… Cody and Ken being friends _do_ look good! ^^

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

**Chapter 8 – Remembering all the Pain**

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

**A/N:** Slight Yolei/Davis and Ken/Kari from here and onwards…

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Davis sat on a large rock, scanning over the landscape and the digimons living their peaceful lives. He can't help but smile as a Biyomon fell over and was soon helped by other Biyomons. Friendship. The word that came into his mind when it happened.

"Davis?" He turned to see the girl in eyeglasses. "Yolei…" Davis said.

"What are you thinking?" Yolei asked as she sat beside the goggle-boy. "Nothing…" Davis sighed, "Just- looking at all the digimons!" He pointed out to the Biyomons, Gutsomons and more others.

"It really feels good to know that you've done something for someone!" Yolei smiled. "Oh no! You've given me another of those 'quotes' of yours!" Davis freaked. "It's _not_ a quote, Davis! It is just words of advise!" Yolei laughed.

"What're the differences?" Davis raised an eyebrow.

"A lot!" Yolei paused with a smile, "Anyway, have you understood my last statement?"

"Sort of…" Davis whispered.

"Explain it to me, then!"

"No! I- I mean, I'm not sure if- if I'm right!" Davis stuttered. "It doesn't matter if you're right or wrong, Davis! It's how you explain it what matters the most!" Yolei smiled. Davis stared at her for a while and finally, gave up… "Fine! Promise… not to laugh at me!" Davis blushed. "I promise!" Yolei held out her palm beside her face.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Life is like a book… each day turns a page. Each page contains memories. Whether good or bad, unforgotten or forgotten. It'll always be written in those pages." Davis repeated what Yolei said.

"A day comes by… and in every day there are things that happens to us that will be implanted to our minds. A good memory… or a bad memory. No matter how much we want to forget about it… it always comes back to us! It always finds its place back!"

Yolei stared at the DDs' leader for a while and Davis was starting to feel really insecure. "I knew I was wrong! You promised not to laugh!" Davis pouted. "I never did!" Yolei smiled, "But you never told me not to smile!"

"Yolei!!!" Davis whined.

"What are you whining for? You're right, anyway!"

"Aahh!!!!" Davis screamed irritably, "Eh? What did you say? I'm- I'm right?" Davis stopped whining and blinked at Yolei. "Yeah! Every part of it! I really can't believe you got it!" Yolei smiled, "It's like… you changed, Davis!"

"We all do, Yolei! You changed too!" Davis smiled back.

"What does _that_ supposed to mean?" Yolei yelled, "Oh! I was wrong! I take that back!" Davis muttered and started running away from the screaming "banshee".

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Ken stared at his own reflection at the pond. The bandage in his forehead was still there and the wound was starting to heal. The memory was scaring him…

/Ken stopped at the forest and instantly took a large rock from the ground. "K'SO!!!" He yelled as he slammed the rock right into his eyes!!! "K'so. K'so. K'so." He chanted as he repeatedly hit himself with the rock. Slowly, blood and tears came rushing out from his eyes./

He can't help but feel pain… pain not from the wound. Pain not felt physically. But emotionally. Wait- Emotionally?

Another thought came into his mind… Fear.

/"Fine! I'll do it!" Ken yelled, unable to stand the pain in Cody's expression. "Ken!" Davis frowned. "Just… let Cody go!" Ken pleaded to the Shadow as the shadow smiled in triumph. He dropped Cody to the ground as the brunette's body went limp./

He was practically scared when the shadow caught Cody. Did I say it right? Scared? "I- I thought I didn't have them anymore!" Ken gasped and knelt down and stared closely at the reflection of his eyes from the pond. "Th- they're-" A smile twitched his face. "They're- they're coming back!"

Quickly, he ran back to the Digi hut where he and the other DDs were staying.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"I can't believe it!" Kari yelled in happiness as she cupped Ken's face in her palms, "They're slowly returning…" Ken nodded with a smile. "Congratulations, Ken! A little bit more and you'll get every part of your eyes back!" Cody smiled. Ken nodded again to the boy below him, "Arigatou…"

"But… what puzzled me is…" TK started a conversation, "Daemon would never leave such an easy way to break his little curse or something!"

"TK's right…" Cody nodded in agreement, "There must be some sort of catch… or trap or something! Or maybe not… the way he sent that Shadow after me, maybe he sensed that Ken is winning over his little curse!"

"Hmm… I think it's a trap! But, if it really is a trap! Then something must've happened by now!" Yolei blinked at stared at everyone. Everything was now in pure silence except for the little arguments Veemon and Patamon are having over the food Yolei and Kari cooked. The silence was broken when Yolei began.

"Anyway, has anyone ever thought of finding a way how to return home? I mean… we've been here for 6 days! I'm sure our parents will be worried by now!" Yolei said as she crossed her arms.

"Well, we certainly can't go home unless there are computer devices to try to unlock the code!" Cody sighed in defeat, "But… how I wish to see Mom and Grandpa again!" He can't help but smile. "Yeah… my family may be a pain sometimes… but I sure miss them!" Yolei agreed. "We miss them too! We _all_ do!" TK nodded followed by Kari's nod.

"But… we can't leave yet! Because-" he stopped and looked around to find Ken missing from their sight. "Ken left just now!" Wormmon said sadly.

"Because… Ken still isn't the same yet!" he continued his sentence.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The birds were chirping cheerfully in that afternoon. Ken was once again consumed in his own thoughts and hugged his knees. Kari looked at him sadly from beside as she laid a hand on his shoulder, "We shouldn't have said those things…"

"You never said anything… t'wasn't your fault!" Ken said, trying to make the girl feel better. "But I still agreed… I guess we should've thought about it before saying it all out loud! I guess we were being really- and I mean, really – tactless!" Kari snapped. Ken stayed silent for a while.

"I never wanted to go back! Ever!" Ken whispered. But Kari heard it crystal clear.

"Why is that?" Kari asked, curiosity flushing all over her. Ken looked at her with fear in his eyes, he didn't expect it would come out in his mouth that easily and his secret will come to exposure! He shook his head quickly and said, "It's- it's nothing!"

"Come on… why can't you trust us for once?" Kari asked sweetly. Ken really _did_ have that look of distrust… "I- I don't know… if- if I should…" Ken whispered.

"You are our friend now, Ken! How do we know something is bothering you if you don't tell us, ne?" Kari smiled.

Ken gave out a heavy sigh and started…

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Enter Osamu Ichijouji.

Child Prodigy.

Popular among the ladies.

The Perfect Child.

Enter Ken Ichijouji.

Obnoxious Child.

Popular among the Shadows.

A Child that never existed.

"Osamu-niisan always had everything! In fact, he was _good_ in everything!" Ken exclaimed. "Mama and Papa always looked up to him… and sometimes, they even follow his orders…"

"I was proud of him too… but somehow, I can't help but feel jealousy and anger towards him the moment I step into his sight!"

"He was never a good brother… cause all he ever did was study and push people around…"

"What's that, Osamu-niisan?" Little Ken asked.

"Liquid Soap. We created bubbles with these during Science class. You wanna try it out?" Osamu asked and handed Ken the small bottle filled with liquid soap. Ken blew some air through the hole and the biggest bubble was created both he and Osamu had ever seen.

"For once… you have something better than I can do, Kenny!" Osamu grinned, watching the bubble fly away to the air. "Really?" Ken smiled widely. "Yeah… you can never create a large bubble like that unless you have patience and gentleness!" Osamu said.

"Well… what does it matter anyway? I never wanted to do useless things like these, anyway!" Osamu laughed and returned to his room to study. "It's not useless, big brother!" Little Ken whispered sadly, "It matters a _lot_ to me!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Mama. I thought we're going to the park today!" Little Ken whined as he pulled his mother's skirt from below, holding a ball in the other hand. "I'm sorry, Ken. But Osamu needs to study and he can't come with us. Your birthday wouldn't be perfect without him, right?" His mom smiled.

But Ken never felt smiling back. Instead, he walked back to the living room and played with the ball on his own. "Happy Birthday to me, I guess…" He said sadly as a tiny streak of tear strolled down from his eye.

His birthday was ruined. Scratch that!

His life was ruined.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"I don't want you touching my things again! You understand? People who touch other's things without permission are the scums of the Earth!"

"I wish you would disappear!"

"Osamu-niisan!!!" Ken yelled at the top of his lungs as a car screeched its way towards the Child Prodigy. Too late… too late. Ken watched in horror as his brother flew to the other side and slid to the floor with another screech. His mouth was dry and his throat was too caught up of the event.

He wanted to scream.

He wanted to cry.

But he was too shocked to do so.

And finally, he snapped back to reality and his eyes finally filled with tears. And then, all hell broke lose.

"OSAMU-NIISAN!!!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"During his funeral… I cried for him so much! But then, I stopped… what good is it to cry for someone when that someone doesn't cry for you back?"

"It's good as it shows… What good is it to love someone when they don't love you back? And from that day on, I never showed them my love anymore…"

To be continued… 


End file.
